Foreign women tourists on a street near the railway station in New Delhi, April 2.

A pocket knife, a taser gun and a bottle of pepper spray are among the items Nancy Stevens, an American publicist, purchased a few days prior to her three-week vacation to India last month.

“I thought I was well-prepared in the event of an attempted assault,” said Ms. Stevens, who was walking in New Delhi’s Paharganj area, where restaurants and hotels catering to backpackers are located.

But after the gang rape Tuesday of an American tourist in the hill town of Manali, a crime which raised fresh concerns about India’s efforts to combat violence against women, Ms. Stevens is rattled.

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“I’m not sure it was wise to plan a trip at all,” she said.

Ms. Stevens, a 34-year-old Seattle native who is scheduled to return to the U.S. later this week, is not alone.

Foreign tourists, particularly women travelers, are growing increasingly wary of visiting India, according to a recent survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, a New Delhi-based trade body. Assocham, in its survey, estimated large-scale travel agencies lost as much as 25% of their business this year versus last over growing worries about female safety. Travel agencies surveyed estimated they received 35% fewer bookings from women travelers in the first three months of 2013, compared to the same period last year.

Violent attacks on women — and more recently on foreign tourists – were cited as the main cause for panic among travelers, according to the report.

In March, for instance, only three months after a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was gang raped in New Delhi – an attack which spurred nationwide outrage – a Swiss woman was raped in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

A few days later, a British woman jumped from a second-floor hotel balcony in the northern city of Agra to escape from the hotel’s manager and security guard, who were allegedly trying to break into her room at 4 a.m. The men are in custody charged with attempted sexual offenses. Their trial has not yet begun, according to a senior police officer at the tourist police station in Agra where the case was registered. It was unclear whether they had legal representation or whether they have entered a formal plea. The men could not be reached for comment.

“Tuesday’s attack is the last straw,” said Ms. Stevens, who is traveling to India with her fiancé. “I would advise my friends to lay off from India,” she added.

Adam Brian, a 24-year-old American tourist who was eating at a neighboring restaurant in Paharganj, said he “would think a hundred times before letting [his] younger sister plan a visit to India.” Mr. Brian, who is visiting New Delhi as part of a student exchange program, believes “women should avoid this place at all costs.”

But not all tourists agree.

“Violent attacks can happen anywhere,” said a former marketing executive from Paris who gave her name as Laura. “The answer, really, is to exercise caution – great caution – while traveling here,” she added.

In Tuesday’s attack, the victim says she accepted a truck driver’s offer to drop her to a guesthouse a little after midnight. The driver and two other men allegedly raped her after she boarded the truck.

Foreign governments advise citizens traveling to India to take precautions.

American “women should observe stringent security precautions, including avoiding use of public transport after dark without the company of known and trustworthy companions,” a note issued earlier this year by the U.S. Department of State warns.

“If you are a woman traveling in India you should respect local dress codes and customs and avoid isolated areas, including beaches, when alone at any time of day,” a notice on the website of the British foreign office reads. Several other countries, including Ireland and Australia, have also issued such advisories in the wake of violent attacks on women.

But some tourists argue they are harassed even when they adhere to local customs and travel advisories.

“I notice men pass lewd comments in broad daylight, when I’m wearing full-sleeved clothing, or even when I’m with a male friend,” Isabella Wright, a 28-year-old social worker from the English town of Brighton, said outside a metro station in central Delhi. “How does one avoid that,” asks Ms. Wright, who this week plans to attend a spiritual course in the northern town of Dharamsala.

Others say the safety issue is not that bad.

“I don’t feel unsafe,” said Bethany Turner, an American tourist. “A lot of things are exaggerated in the media,” she added.“It creates unnecessary panic for those planning trips to India.” Ms. Turner, who is traveling with her husband, said she wasn’t aware of Tuesday’s attack, or of the gang rape in December, which pushed the Indian government to toughen laws relating to rape and other assaults on women.

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